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Chap. .IjM-^-^-h 
Shelf _ -_uZ^-^-C4 3 

UN5TED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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REMARKS 



OS 



WASHINGTON COLLEGE 



AirO ON THS 



''CONSIDERATIONS" 



SUGGESTED £7 ITS ESTABLISHMENT. 



TtcdS^^£ 4m&d^- . 



■** ,• 



'^ Thou bast most traitorously corrupted the jrouthvf the re«.Iinin erecting a. Grammar School.^ 

JACK CADE. 



a. S> > 




HAXITFOXIO9 (OOH. 

H. HUNTINGTON, JR. 



i 

1825. 



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■T^2.e^3 



if 



S. K. NORTON.-.i'Hnfer. 



RSMAEXS 

ON 

WASHINGTON COLLEGE. 



The friends of Washington College seem to have manifest- 
ed no disposition to obtrude their Institution on the notice of 
the pubhck. Having obtained the charter they desired, and 
sufficient means from the munificence of the community to 
carry its provisions into effect, the Trustees of the College 
have shown a laudable zeal in its prompt organization — in 
adopting a judicious course of discipline and instruction, and 
appointing a competent Faculty to administer and conduct 
it. They have collected a valuable Library and Cabinet of 
Minerals, with the necessary Chemical apparatus ; the number 
of students already respectable, is gradually increasing : and 
thus, in a shorter space of time than could have been antici- 
pated by its moft sanguine friends, the Institution has com- 
menced its opersltions. That all this should have taken place, 
without producing a rude and clamorous opposition, was 
more perhaps than they had a right to expect. They were 
too well aware of the jealousy with which every " encroach- 
ment" on exclusive privileges of long standing was viewed 
by certain individuals, to hope that the new College would be 
allowed to rise, without an effort to prostrate it. The zeal 
which was manifested in various parts of the state, to prevent 
subscriptions from being obtained, had prepared them for a 
more organized and regular assault ; and it was therefore with 
as little surprise as consternation that they beheld it, at length. 



in the form of " Considerations, suggested by the establishment 
of a second College in Connecticut,^^ 

Still, the Trustees and Officers of the new College appear 
to have hoped, that by a zealous devotion to the common 
cause of learning, religion, and morals, they should ultimately 
secure the approbation of all, to whom that cause was dear. 
Although their Institution has been assailed, with as much 
hearty good will to demolish it as was perhaps ever entertain- 
ed, and the " Considerations^"^ have been many weeks before 
the pubhck, they still remain silent ; as if willing to trust their 
cause, and its vindication, to the candour and good sense of 
the community. But if, from a desire to avoid contention, 
and to administer no fuel to the " undying flame of discord", 
which their assailants, with great consistency, have both 
"kindled" and deprecated, they forbear to come forward as 
the vindicators of the College, the writer of this, who was 
among the petitioners for its charter, and takes some interest 
in its welfare, feels himself under no such restraint. He 
therefore proposes to amuse himself, during some of his leisure 
hours, in looking over this production ; and if his speculations 
should chance to lead him over the "common ground" occu- 
pied by Yale College, he hopes to be forgiven the " encroach- 
ment," in consideration that it has been fairly invited. 

I do not partake in a very high degree the common curiosi- 
ty to know who were the authors of the pamphlet. It would 
appear from their speaking of themselves in the plural num- 
ber, that many had toiled in the work ; — a. circumstance suffi- 
ciently evident from the diversity of style, and I may add, the 
contradictions in which it abounds. It exhibits all the varie- 
ties of the ambling gait, the manly determined stride, and " the 
long majestic march, and energy divine," which one would 
expect, in the joint production of many persons. There are 
some who do not hesitate to ascribe the labour of arranging 
the matter, and supplying deficiencies, to very high authority . 
and it has even been affirmed that the writers themselves do at 
least intimate the source from which it comes, in that part of 



5 



their strictures where they challenge a controversy. " If any 
charges," say they, " are brought against the officers of Yah 
College, or the principles of that institution, justice demands 
that they be specific, and supported by the testimony of re- 
spectable names." But I have no disposition to lend an ear 
to these flying rumours. If the writers had not pretended to 
a very intimate acquaintance with Yale College, with which 
indeed they appear desirous of being identified, I should have 
ascribed these lucubrations to a junto of young disputants, 
who, with more zeal than discretion, were in haste to break 
a lance against the new College, before the judicious friends of 
the old Institution could advise them to forbear. But it is 
enough, that the writers assure us, that the pamphlet contains 
the concentrated wisdom and mature " Considerations" of 
many " reflecting men".—" We shall now submit to the publick 
the evidence on which we acted, &;c." This hostile combina- 
tion appears to have been arrayed and brought into the field, 
for the sole purpose of injuring the new College. No other 
object can be assigned ; and the writers themselves are so far 
from attempting to disguise it, that they bend all the force of 
their " powerful, sagacious, and determined minds" to this 
one point. They hope to effect their purpose, by discrediting 
the new Institution in the eyes of the publick — ^by intimidating 
the General Assembly from ever granting to it any endow- 
ment — by preventing all further subscription to its funds — 
and by deterring young men from resorting to it for an educa- 
tion. Whether they will succeed in this laudable attempt 
to crush a young Institution, designed to be their ally in the 
general cause of literature, time only can decide. I am sure 
their hostile feelings are not reciprocated by the Trustees of 
Washington College, nor by any of its Ofliicers, towards the 
Institution at New-Haven. I have never heard them speak 
of it but in the terms of respect it deserved ; and for myself 
I must expressly disavow all unkind feelings towards Yale 
College ; nor shall it be brought into the present discussion, 
any farther than is necessary to repel the extraordinary and 



6 

ill-timed attack of the writers in question. Towards that 
large and respectable denomination of Christians, whom the 
writers have endeavoured to enlist in their cause, I also dis- 
claim all other feelings than those of kindness and good will. 
I have the best reason to believe, that the great body of that 
communion regret and condemn the unprovoked hostility, 
which a few bigoted individuals have thought proper to com- 
mence ; and that they will not be induced to lend their coun- 
tenance to a system of proscription, which has for its object 
the extermination of an infant seminary of learning. 

It is asserted by these writers that " for literary purposes, 
Washington College is totally unnecessary" ; and to confirm 
this position, they refer to the recent increase of collegiate 
institutions in this country, and to the flourishing condition of 
those which have been long established. — I really do not per- 
ceive why the weight of this argument is to fall exclusively on 
Washington College ; or why the friends of this Institution are 
accused of" entailing on distant generations a source of impla- 
cable jealousies and feuds," while the patrons of other Colleges 
are respected for their piety, and commended for their munif- 
icence. If we really have more Colleges than the interests 
of literature demand, why is it that such exertions are used at 
the present day, to establish a third College in Massachusetts, 
and ai fourth dxidijifth in the state of New- York ? Why are the 
inhabitants of our Southern States "encroaching on the rights 
of existing Institutions, and sowing the seeds of discord," 
where, it appears from the testimony of these writers, " unex- 
ampled exertions are making for the education of their youth"? 
Are the friends of these Institutions engaged in " commer- 
cial speculations" for the mere purposes of local or sectarian 
aggrandizement ? or in plans of benevolence, calculated to 
exalt our national character, by diffusing more widely a taste 
for the useful and liberal arts ? The great and good men, who 
are directing their attention to these important objects, " deem 
it no visionary expectation to anticipate the day, when it shall 
be here as it is in Scotland, where every man of common in- 



dustry— where even a poor widow, by a little extraordinary 
exertion, may train up a son to rank in attainments, in influ- 
ence, in usefulness, with the richest and proudest in the land." 
On this subject, I beg leave to submit to the writers of the 
pamphlet the judgment of the American Education Society, It 
may have the more weight with them as coming from a friend 
and ally ; and meets their objections against Washington Col- 
lege so admirably, that I cannot refuse them the gratification 
of a second perusal. The directors of that Society, who 
with paternal solicitude are watching over the instruction of 
nearly two hundred young men, have recently given to the 
world the result of their observations. The following is an 
extract from their Ninth and last Annual report : — " The 
multiplication of Literary Institutions is dreaded by some, as 
being in their view, unfavourable to the substantial progress 
of our national literature. But for ourselves, we can say, 
that it seems to us no inauspicious omen. We hail it as the 
token of a spirit in this community that will not rest, till it 
has brought within the reach of every enterprising youth, the 
means of a liberal education. We see in it the process by 
which the standard of education is to be raised to its maxim- 
um, while the expenses of education are brought down to 
their minimum, — a procees as simple as it is rapid, and in- 
volving only the well known principle that competition al- 
ways leads to improvement. That such anticipations are not 
visionary, the history of Literary Institutions in our country 
abundantly testifies. While the number of Colleges in New- 
England has been increasing, the advantages which they 
have individually afforded have been contmually rising in 
value, and diminishing in expense. The recent experience 
of this community, and the facts which are at this day expos- 
ed to the observation of every individual, may serve at once 
to illustrate and to prove the assertion, that if a new Institu- 
tion be placed where it becomes in any sort a rival to an old 
one, the friends of both are immediately excited to far 
higher exertions than could have been otherwise called forth 
in behalf of either." 



I the more cheerfully recommend the above extract to the 
notice of the writers of the " Considerations", because it de- 
molishes in a single paragraph, about six pages of their " good 
reasons" why Washington College should become " perni- 
cious to the interests of sound learning." It shows the de- 
ceitfulness of attempting to reduce moral causes and effects 
to arithmetical computation ; and being the official language 
of a body of men, distinguished for their intelligence and pub- 
lick spirit, men, whose business frequently leads them to our 
seminaries of learning, it exhibits opinions derived from am- 
ple experience, and truths which no reasonable man will at- 
tempt to controvert : They are truths and opinions as appli- 
cable to the second College in Connecticut as to any other in 
our country ; but they seem to have entirely escaped the no- 
tice of our writers. 

The question whether Washington College be " necessary 
to the cause of literature" in Connecticut is reduced to a 
narrow compass. Its friends were " convinced of the expe* 
diency of attempting to establish another Collegiate Institu- 
tion in this State ;" its enemies affirmed that it would be " in- 
jurious to the cause of letters." An appeal was made to the 
Legislature, and to the publick ; and I now proceed to state 
the ground on which their decision, so favourable to the pro- 
gress of literature, has been given. 

It is well known that the Episcopalians in Connecticut have 
long been making exertions to obtain the charter of a College. 
Many years since, they applied to the Legislature for this 
purpose, urging in behalf of their application, that there was 
not a College in the country under the immediate superintend- 
ance of their communion, and that effectual measures had 
been taken, to keep in other hands the controul of existing 
seminaries. In the year 1 8 11 , the General Convention of 
the Episcopal Church, understanding that exertions were 
making in Connecticut for the establishment of a second 
College, expressed by an unanimous vote their " approbation 
of the object, and their wishes for its success." I mention 



9 

this fact, to correct an error in the '^Considerations," by 
showing that the estabHshment of a second College in Con- 
necticut has received the sanction of " the Church in its col- 
lective capacity." 

About two years ago, these efforts were renewed, when the 
Legislature, deeming the request of the petitioners reasona- 
ble and just, granted the charter of Washington College, and 
elected some of our most respectable citizens to superintend 
its concerns. In their fjfforts to obtain this object, the Epis- 
copalians of Connecticut were pursuing no " system of ag~ 
grandizement," no " scheme of aggression." They were 
then, as they are now, merely consulting the means of self-pre- 
servation. Of the nine collegiate institutions established in 
New-England, eight were under the controul of the Congre- 
gationahsts ; and the Presidency in each of them was filled by 
clergymen of that respectable denomination. The ninth was 
hy charter given to the Baptists. And when I recollect that 
a respectable portion of the students in these Colleges were 
sons of Episcopalians, it does not appear extraordinary, that 
they should have been reasonably anxious to provide for the 
academical education of their children, in a College under 
their more immediate controul. On this occasion, and in re- 
ference to this very subject, I beg leave to quote the language 
of the Bishop of South-Carohna. Higher or better authority 
I cannot adduce. " Education, in relation to the interests of 
our Church, is still, in another view of it, a subject of un- 
speakable concern, in the thoughts of him who addresses 
you. He has long painfully contemplated it as the misfor- 
tune of this Church, remediable only by an effort of zealj 
which circumstances seem to forbid to be expected, that the 
whole process of the academical education of its youth should 
be conducted under influences at variance with the princi- 
ples of its communion. He considers this a lot not more to 
be lamented than it is extraordinarily peculiar. He is anx- 
ious that he may not, on this subject, be misconceived. He 
glories ia the real liberality of sentiment and conduct, with 



10 

i^espect to other Christian societies which he sincerely bC" 
lieves, in an eminent degree, characterises that of which he is 
a member. He deprecates, at the same time the effects of 
such an erroneous hberahty, as would make that to be re- 
garded with indifference here, which among all others is 
cherished as a concern of high and sacred importance. * * * 
There is no Christian community in Christendom, excepting 
that of Protestant Episcopalians in the United States, which 
does not, as a community, make provision, or where provis- 
ion cannot systematically be made, watch, against what is 
considered the perverting influence of academic education. 
It is the mode in which above all others, a real solicitude to 
transmit to their children the religion which men cherish, is 
most unequivocally expressed — to commit their education to 
no circumstances, which shall have a tendency to counteract 
the claim which their religion has upon their respect and their 
adherence."* 

No doubt, the writers would pronounce these views of 
Bishop Bowen " sectarian ;" but I can assure them that they 
are not peculiar to him : They have long been cherished by 
the respectable body of christians to which he belongs, and 
sanctioned by the practice of every other denomination. And 
here, I am sorry to be obliged to take notice of a most unjusti- 
fiable perversion of a matter of fact. At the last General 
Convention of the Episcopal Church, held in Philadelphia in 
May, 1823, a committee was "instructed to inquire into, and 
report on, the practicability of establishing a seminary or sem- 
inaries for the instruction of youth ^ under the influence and au- 
thority of the Protestant Episcopal Church,'^'' With this very 
resolution before their eyes, the writers of the pamphlet 
would have us believe, not that it is the intention of Episco- 
palians to concentrate their efforts on a single Institution, but 
that it is their " settled designto increase the influence of that 
Church in the existing seminaries of our country /" Candour 

* Address delivered before the Annual Convention of the Diocess of 
South-Carolina, Feb. 20th, 1823. 



11 

impels me to say, that on this occasion, the sentiments and 
language of the Convention have been most strangely misre- 
presented. 

Were it necessary, I would next advert to the sentiments 
of Episcopalians in this state, to show, that the establishment 
of a second College has long been a favorite object with them. 
In pursuance of these sentiments they applied to the Legisla- 
ture for the charter of Washington College. "We are con- 
vinced," they said, " of the expediency of attempting to es- 
tabUsh another Collegiate Institution in this State." — " When 
we consider the rapid increase of the population of our coun- 
try, and the growing demand for the facilities of public in- 
struction, it is manifest that the present provisions are becom- 
ing inadequate." They represented, moreover, that there 
was no College in our country " under the special patronage 
and guardianship of Episcopalians," — expressed their belief 
that such an one would be established, and their wishes, that 
" Connecticut might have the benefit of its location." In 
making one of the latter assertions, say the writers of the 
" Considerations," the petitioners " seemed entirely to forget 
Columbia College." In reply to this courteous remark, it is 
sufficient to state, that when the petition for a second College 
was formerly presented to the Legislature, Columbia College 
was under the immediate " guardianship" of a distinguished 
Divine of the Presbyterian Church* — that but a bare majori- 
ty of its instructors are at this time Episcopalians ; and that 
the very terms of its charter preclude the idea of its being 
considered under the special patronage and guardianship of 
Episcopalians. It is certainly an Institution of great respect- 
ability, and of immense consequence to the citizens of New- 
York, but the very fact of its location in a large commer- 
cial metropolis, renders it inaccessible to most students from 
other parts of the country. 

But the petitioners " seemed to forget," that a College 
" had already been incorporated at Geneva." It was very 

* The Rev. Dr. Mason. 



12 

natural for them to forget what did not then exist. When 
the petition for Washington College was presented', there had 
been no College incorporated at Geneva. And although a 
charter has been promised to individuals, on condition of their 
raising 50,000 dollars, I have never learned that those condi- 
tions have been complied with. It would give me pleasure 
to hear that they were. 

I have hitherto quoted the language of Episcopalians only, 
because it is well known, that the idea of establishing a second 
College originated with them. The writers of the pamphlet 
will probably consider it the language of men acting from 
sectarian prejudices, and for purposes of sectarian aggran- 
dizement. To correct such a mistake, it is necessary only 
to consult the proceedings of the Legislature. There we 
find men, of different religious persuasions, assembled to de- 
vise measures of public utility. The guardians of our civil 
and religious institutions, they constitute the tribunal to which 
the applicants for chartered rights must appeal, and whose 
decisions are presumed to be dictated by wisdom. It was for 
them to judge whether a second College in this State was ne- 
cessary or not. With uncommon unanimity they decided 
this question in the affirmative ; deeming it " the policy, as 
unquestionably it is the interest, of Connecticut, to multiply 
attractions of a literary nature;" Had they hesitated for a 
moment on the expediency of the measure, the fact stated by 
the writers of the pamphlet, that " nearly one third of our 
youth, who receive a public education, are drawn to Institu- 
tions out of the State," would have settled the question at 
once. To be sure, every man has a right to take his own way 
in proving a point ; but I confess I do not see how the sending of 
one third of our youth, who receive a public education, to Insti- 
tutions out of the State, is a very convincing argument against 
establishing another in the State for their accommodation. 

The next statement of the writers I am to take notice of, I 
have the charity to wish they had never made. They gravely 
tell us, that " no one thought of arguing its cause on literary 



13 

grounds"! Now I must request them to attend, as far as 
their abhorrence oi facts will permit, to the language of the 
petition ; where they will find that its cause wa^i argued on 
literary grounds, and on no other I Those who were present 
during the debates in the Legislature, know very well, that 
literary reasons were the principal ones urged : — " the whole 
State were witnesses to the fact ;" and I greatly admire the 
courage of these gentlemen in asserting the contrary. 

We are also told, that " Washington College was, from the 
first, offered to our large towns as a mercantile speculation." 
President Clap informs us, in his history of Yale College, 
that in the year 1716, when the question of the location of 
that Institution was pending, " about 700/. sterling was sub- 
scribed for New-Haven, 500/. for Saybrook, and a considera- 
ble sum for Hartford or Wethersfield ;", and in consequence, 
the Fellows voted, a few months afterwards, to remove the 
College to New-Haven- It appears, therefore, that the Trus- 
tees of Washington College pursued a course, in regard to its 
location, precisely similar to that adopted a century before by 
the Fellows of Yale, and by which Saybrook was " robbed of 
her crowning ornament, and her sons of those peculiar intellec- 
tual advantages, which had constituted the principal source of 
her strength." I cannot perceive why this course should be 
considered right in the one case and wrong in the other. If Yale 
College was " offered to our large towns as a mercantile spec- 
ulation," I do not see but that, on the same principles, Wash- 
ington College must fall under a hke reproach. The fact is, 
the establishment of a Literary Institution in any place, is a fair 
subject of calculation with those who are to derive benefit 
from it, either of a literary or a pecuniary nature ; and it 
should be remembered, that such calculations are usually 
made by the inhabitants of this or that place, on local prin 
ciples only, and not by the friends of the Institution at large. 

The writers inform us, moreover, that " nothing can be ex- 
pected from the establishment of a second College, but the 
commencement of a long and painful conflict." As if anx- 



14 

ious to establish the truth of their prediction, they have showa 
themselves ready to commence this " conflict without neces- 
sity, without use, without end." While the College was yet 
in embryo, and had scarcely obtained its charter — while its 
location was unsettled — its endowment uncertain, there was 
little in its character or prospects to excite their jealousy, and 
" from motives of delicacy" they remained silent. But these 
motives of delicacy — this unwillingness, — " even by a tem- 
perate statement of truths to appear in an attitude, which 
might be construed into hostility to the new College" — van^ 
ished at once, when it was known to have received, from mu- 
nificent patrons, its endowment ; — that it was caressed by the 
publick, and was about to commence its career with encour- 
aging prospects of success. Then^ Washington College was 
discovered to be " totally unnecessary," and undeserving of 
publick patronage — " established on a principle radically in- 
correct, and fraught with alarming consequences" — " an in- 
strument of sectarian aggrandizement" — '' an engine con- 
structed to secure the extermination" of all other denomina- 
tions — a " scheme, fraught with the seeds of discord," and 
calculated to " entail on distant generations a source of im- 
placable jealousies and feuds." Then, too, its opponents 
point to " scenes of corruption and intrigue" — to " attempts 
to bargain away the publick money" — to " new schemes of 
aggrandizement" — and to the " undying flame of discord 
which will have been kindled in the State." Bless us ! what 
awful times they will be ! But these writers are resolved to 
wash their hands of the guilt of hastening on these scenes of 
anarchy and terror : — They " have thought it due to them- 
selves and to posterity, to leave on record one statement, at 
least, that the world should know on whom the responsibility 
must rest." — When they have sufficiently awakened from this 
dream of horror to attend to matters of sober reality, I would 
respectfully inquire of them, who is to engage in these shame- 
ful transactions ? who is to cherish these " implacable jeal 
ousies andfeuds ?" who is to kiftdle this " undying flame of dis~ 



15 

cord ?" Surely neither the friends nor the Trustees of Wash- 
ington College. They have manifested a disposition to live 
peaceably with all men. They have attacked neither pub- 
lick institutions nor private character : They have engaged 
in no schemes to " extort money from the State ;" nor is 
there the least reason to fear that the Legislature will " bar- 
gain away the public money," except for objects of publick 
utility. 

Recovering myself from the consternation into which I was 
thrown by these alarming visions, I proceed to examine a 
claim asserted by these writers, which will be considered by 
some as a point of more consequence — the rights of Yale Col- 
lege. Is it possible that one hundred years' possession of the 
exclusive privilege of educating the youth of this State, has 
given to the friends of Yale, authority to claim that privilege 
forever; so that the establishment of another Institution "must 
be regarded by the friends of Yale College as an encroach- 
ment on its rights .^" that " contention between Colleges can- 
.not be prevented, when one encroaches on the ground which 
has been long occupied by another .^" that " they have a right 
to ask, and will not cease to ask, why has this invasion been 
attempted ?" that to interfere with the rights^ and endanger 
the present establishment of Yale College has been felt by its 
friends to be an act oi flagrant injustice .^" 

This, it must be confessed, is taking high ground. If it can 
be maintained, the inference unavoidably follows, that there 
is still a privileged order in Connecticut, to whose care. Bap- 
tists, Methodists, Episcopalians are bound to commit their 
sons, or else send them out of the state for education. Wheth- 
er the officers of Yale College employ the " powerful means 
of controling religious opinion" thus put into their hands, 
discreetly, is not now the question. A privilege of immense 
importance is formally claimed ; — A privilege, such as was 
never before heard of in a free country ; and which, if con- 
ceded, must lay every other denomination of christians at 
their feet. If these writers can fairly make good their posi- 



16 

tion, it will follow inevitably, that a " single sect" has the un- 
doubted right of forming the minds of all the youth who seek 
a publick educatiou in Connecticut ; and to withhold it is " an 
act of flagrant injustice." Attempt to rear another institu- 
tion, and you are denounced as an invader of established 
rights — you are encroaching on ground which has been 
long occupied by another ; and they tell you, " they have a 
right to ask and will not cease to ask, why has this invasion 
been attempted"? There is no ambiguity here : — " It is im- 
possible to distort or evade such language, and we cannot 
believe it will be attempted," Now I desire to know, what 
rights the Congregationalists of Connecticut are in possession 
of, which are inconsistent with the rights of other denomina- 
tions. They have been very amply stated in the pamphlet, I 
admit ; but before I am willing to concede such an enormous 
power to any " sect," I wish to see the grounds of the claim 
as amply and publickly established. When the friends of 
Washington College expressed in their petition a " desire to 
be placed on the same footing as other denominations of 
Christians," they certainly did not aspire to the high prerog- 
ative of educating the whole youth of the State. They 
very naturally supposed, and the General Assembly were of 
the same opinion, that in organizing and endowing a second 
College, they encroached on the rights of no one 5 that the 
whole field lay open to honourable competition : — for, until 
the appearance of the " Considerations", they could not be 
aware that any friends of Yale College claimed for it these 
most extraordinary privileges. They doubtless were of 
opinion that they had a fair and honourable title to a new 
College, provided the funds could be obtained for endowing 
it. And they were as little prepared to comprehend in what 
way the rights of Yale College could be " injured" by 
erecting another, as to understand how the addition of fifty 
or one hundred thousand dollars to the literary fund of the 
State, was to " prove useless if not pernicious to the cause of 
letters." When they submitted their petition to the Legis* 



17 

kture, the claims to a monopoly of education had not been 
so expressly and broadly stated, as they have since been ; and 
it may fairly be supposed, they were ignorant that they were 
treading on forbidden ground. The repeated rejection of 
their petitions for a charter, during the last fifteen or 
twenty years, had indeed made them sensible that they did 
not then stand on the ground of equal rights ; but they little 
thought that such formidable pretensions to exclusive privi- 
leges would be set up at the present day. On this point the 
Legislature seem to have been as much in the dark as them- 
selves, when they voted, and by a very great majority, the 
charter, of which we now hear such loud complaints. Why 
did not the writers direct their complaints to that honourable 
body ? Why did they not accuse them directly, as they now 
do indirectly, of violating the rights of an existing institution ? 
They are the real offenders in this case, if offence has been 
committed. The petitioners had an undoubted right to pre- 
fer any prayer whatever. They could ask for such privileges 
as had been conceded to others : but they could only peti- 
tion. It rested with the General Assembly to judge of the 
reasonableness of their request : and if these writers feel 
themselves aggrieved by the decision of that honourable body, 
why do they not address their remonstrances to the real au- 
thors of their wrongs ? Many of their charges are, in fact, 
intended to reproach the conduct of the Legislature ; for 
while their want of wisdom is very plainly intimated by their 
granting a charter to a College which is pronounced " unne- 
cessary," their injustice is equally manifest in their readiness 
to " encroach on the ground which has been long occupied by 
another." Surely, these writers have been most unfortunate 
in putting forth such exorbitant claims in favour of Yale 
College, and the judicious friends of that Institution have 
great reason to complain of the revolting attitude in which it- .. 
has been exhibited before the publick. On what principle, 
these writers assume to themselves the name of " friends of 

Yale College," I am at a loss to conceive. If they really 

3 



II 

wish well to that Institution, letthenibeware^ — let them write 
no more pamphlets. — I have no reason to think that they will 
be supported in their exorbitant claims. I believe, indeed, 
that the respectable body of the Congregationalists " have 
met with great injustice in this respect." I " am far from 
<ionsidering that Church as engaging, in its collective capa- 
city, in this design"; and I " deeply regret, that any indi- 
viduals of that communion have thought it proper. They 
will certainly find, that the sense of the State and the country 
Is against them." 

A large portion of the pamphlet is taken up in attempting 
to show, that " the principle on which the charter of Wash- 
ington College was obtained, was felt to be radically incorrect, 
and fraught with alarming consequences." — " The real, and 
even avowed object of erecting a second College was, to 
give influence and patronage to a particular sect of Chris- 
tians." In a word, it is objected to Washington College that 
it is " sectarian". As the terms " sect" and " sectarian" 
occur about sixty times (the phrases being sometimes elegant- 
ly varied to express " the aggrandizement of a particular city 
or sect",) it may reasonably be supposed to have been a fa- 
vourite objection with the writers, and they would hardly for- 
give me if I suffered it to pass unnoticed. But my attention 
is arrested by another example of consistency, so happy, that 
I cannot forbear calling my readers' attention to it. They 
say — " The character, which the Episcopalians have giv- 
en to this favorite object, has been from the first, peculiar and 
striking. In the vert/ petition for a new College they made it 
a sectarian object. They drew a line of separation between 
themselves and the rest of the State, and directly excluded 
every other class of Christians from uniting in their request." 
—Very well. According to the statement of these writers, 
^'nothing could be more sectarian than the petition for Wash- 
ington College : its ultimate design was to be " the aggran- 
dizement of a particular sect." It was declared to be so from 
the beginning, for " no one pretended to argue its cause or 



19 

literary grounds."—" Now," say th^y, " we appeal witK 
confidence to the publick, would the new College have ob- 
tained a charter, had these statements been candidly made 
when the petition was presented ?" What statements ? Why 
4he very statements which they affirm were made in the " very 
petition for a new College." " These are comparative tri- 
fles we know ;" but they «how that even " sagacious minds" 
iBiay fall into the very snares which they have laid for others. 

Now, with regard to the accusations of sectarianism, re- 
|)eated usque ad nauseam with little variation, in almost every 
fitage of the pamphlet, it may be remarked, that universal ex» 
perience has shown how impossible it is, but that every Col- 
lege, from wliich the Christian religion is not formally exclud- 
ed, should possess, in a greater or less degree, the religious 
4;haracter of that denomination of Christians by a majority of 
whom its affairs are conducted. A majority of the Trustees, 
and a majority of the Faculty, will be of some particular per- 
suasion ; and no one who has felt the force of early literary 
associaiians — no one who attributes to the several classes of 
believers, sincerity in their profession, can doubt whether the 
majority will not necessarily, though perhaps unintentionally, 
^ve to the Institution something of the tone and character of 
its own peculiar sentiments. 

It is again and again repeated in the " Considerations,'' 
that Colleges are the " common ground on which the youth of 
all denominations meet"-—" impartial Literary Institutions, 
exerting no influence in favour of one denomination or against 
another." I have nothing to say to this as a matter of theo- 
Ty, but it is not, and cannot be true in practice. Ever}^ Col- 
lege in New-England was called into existence by some par- 
ticular denomination of Christians ; and they are as well 
known by their religious character, as they severally are by 
iheir chartered titles. They are also as much " identified 
with the peculiar interests" of their several churches, as 
Washington College can possibly be. While eight out of 
.sine of these Institutions are in the hands of Congregation- 



20 

alists, and the officers of instruction in each, with scarcely an 
exception, are members of the same reUgious denomination, 
these writers may have good reason to consider "this course to 
be safe," — and to represent Colleges as " common ground" — 
" impartial Literary Institutions," exerting no sectarian influ- 
ence :--they may see great objections to Episcopalians' peti- 
tioning for a charter in a body, and sometimes calling their Col- 
lege an Episcopal College : — they may discover it to be " a 
departure from the only true grounds as to Literary Institu- 
tions," and "fraught with alarming consequences" : and on the 
strength of these sage " Considerations," they may overcome 
their " reluctance to address the publick," and prove, to their 
^own satisfaction, at least, that Washington College is " total- 
ly unnecessary." They observe, that, " when a new College 
becomes necessary for literary purposes, its Officers and Trus- 
tees will probably, in most instances, be of the same religious 
sentiments." Why will this happen in Institutions designed 
for littrary purposes ?- — Simply because religious purposes are 
always more or less blended with them. They speak too, of 
certain cases in which we may properly " consult the inter- 
ests of our own Church, and indulge that warm attachment 
which we naturally feel for peculiarities made sacred by ear- 
ly association, and sanctioned, as each believes, by the decis- 
ions of God himself." They admit, that " Colleges exert a 
powerful and lasting influence on the well-being of society. 
They mingle their interests with the interests and feelings of 
that class of minds, which is ultimately to give law to every 
other. A silent influence goes forth from their walls, on the 
moral condition of a people." We are agreed then as to the 
importance of our respective modes of faith, and on the pow- 
er of early association in shaping the future religious charac- 
ter. The difference between us consists in this ; that while 
the authors of the pamphlet, in contradiction to their own 
principles, deny that the preponderance of a particular denom- 
ination in a College has any natural and necessary tendency to 
influence the religious sentiments of the students, the friends of 



21 

Washington College freely and honestly avow it. I speak on- 
ly of necessary and incidental results. Any attempts to ex* 
ercise a direct influence would be as subversive of their end, 
as dishonourable in their exercise. From the consequences 
of this argument, in which I do not perceive any " irremedi- 
able and fatal defect,"! would claim no exemption in favour of 
Washington College ; but I have no hesitation to assert, that 
it is less exclusive in its religious character, and less likely to 
exert an undue influence on its students, than Yale College, 
with which these writers are so fond of contrasting it. 

The religious character of an Institution must be learned 
from its charter and its administration. Let us take a view 
of Washington College in reference to these particulars. In 
soliciting a charter for this Institution, it was never attempted 
to be disguised, that the interests of Episcopalians were es- 
pecially regarded. The language of the petitioners is explic- 
it on this point. " We are members," say they, " of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church," and they represent that 
" while all other religious denominations in the Union have 
their Universities and Colleges, there is not a single Institu- 
tion of this kind under the special guardianship and patronage 
of Episcopalians." " As Episcopalians," they continue, 
" we do not ask for any exclusive privileges ; but we desire to 
be placed on the same footing with other denominations of 
Christians." And they further declare — a declaration deem- 
ed satisfactory by the General Assembly, that if it should be 
thought expedient to establish a new College, they were " de- 
sirous that it should be conducted on broad principles of re- 
ligious toleration." 

Let us advert in the next place, to the charter of Washing- 
ton College. It is there expressly provided, that though "the 
Trustees and their successors shall have full power and au- 
thority to make all ordinances and bye-laws, which to them 
shall seem expedient for carrying into effect the design of the 
Institution — such ordinances, or bye-laws, shall not make the 
religious tenets of any person a condition of admission to any 



22 

privileges in the said College, and that no President, or Pro- 
fessor, or other Officer, shall be made ineligible for, or by 
reason of, any religious tenet that he may profess, or be com- 
pelled by any bye-law, or otherwise, to subscribe to any relig- 
ious tenet whatever." 

In consonance with this liberal provision of the charter, is 
the declaration of the Board of Trustees, at their special 
meeting at Middle town, on the 4th of March last, by which they 
" pledge themselves to the publick, that the College shall be 
conducted on principles as truly liberal, in regard to its relig- 
ious character, as any other Institution in our country: and 
that no means shall be employed by the Government of the 
College to influence the religious sentiments of the youth, 
who are of other denominations than the Protestant iEpisco- 
pal Church." 

I am aware that the writers of the pamphlet have not 
thought it beneath them to insinuate, that the Trustees will 
not hereafter govern the Institution on these broad prin- 
ciples of religious toleration, and that " they will al- 
ways have reasons for their conduct sufficiently plausible, at 
least, and, we believe, sufficiently guarded, to defy investiga- 
tion." It is hardly consistent in men, who " purpose, by the 
grace of God, to maintain christian feelings ; and to employ 
no weapons but those of fair argument," to tell a respectable 
body of gentlemen that they mill lie, when they have an op- 
portunity of doing so without being discovered. Leaving 
them to reconcile this setrnmg inconsistency as they can, I 
proceed to remark, that if further proof be needed of the 
liberal spirit of the founders of Washington College, it may 
be seen in the fact, that one fourth part of the Board of Trus- 
tees was made to consist of gentlemen who are not Episcopa- 
lians ; while in the appointment of the Faculty, one of the 
first Professors elected, was taken from without Hie limits of 
the Episcopal Church. By these means, the rights of other 
denominations are watched over and guarded, and security is 
given to the publick, that, H any measures should be atten^tr 



23 

ed, calculated to infringe on liberty of conscience, the alarm 
may be sounded in season to prevent the evil, or to avert the 
consequences. 

In these provisions of the charter, and in these measures 
of the Trustees of the College, how little do we see of that 
bad principle, which the writers, by a somewhat bold figure, 
denominate " the unmitigated spirit of sect". What manner 
of '' spirit" it was which dictated the accusation, I leave the 
publick to judge ; and proceed to examine the Constitution 
and Administration of Yale College, whose rights and privi- 
leges are represented to have been so rudely assailed, by the 
establishment of a " sectarian College." I wish to do this 
with all possible tenderness : — the challenge offered by these 
writers must be my apology for doing it at all. 

In looking into the history of Yale College, as given by one 
of its Presidents, (whose " name", I hope, will be deemed 
by these gentlemen '' respectable,") I find, that at a meeting 
of " Collegiate Undertakers" at Saybrook, in the year 1701, 
it was ordained, among other regulations, that the Rector, 
" shall take effectual care that the students be weekly caused 
memoriter to recite the Assembly'^ s Catechism in Latin, and 
Ames* Theological Theses^ of which, as also of Amies'* Cases 
of Conscience, he shall make, or cause to be made, from time 
to time, such explanations as may, through the blessing of 
God, be most conducive to their establishment in the princi- 
ples of the Christian Protestant religion." — In the year 1722, 
when the Rector, the Rev. Mr. Cutler, one of the Tutors, 
and two of the neighbouring ministers, after a full enquiry 
into the constitution of the primitive Church, felt themselves 
impelled to leave the Communion of the Churches in the 
Colony, and proceed to England for Episcopal ordination, 
the Trustees assembled at New-Haven, and voted, that they 
did, " in faithfulness to the trust reposed in them, excuse the 
Rev. Mr. Cutler from all further service as Rector of Yale 
College :" and further, that all such persons as shall, here- 
after, be elected to the office of Rector or Tutor, in this Col- 



24 

lege, shall, before the Trustees, declare their assent to the 
Confession of Faith, owned and consented to by the Bidet's 
and Messengers of the Churches in the Colony of Connecti- 
cut, assembled by delegation at Saybrook, Sept. 9, 1 708, and 
confirmed by assent of the General Assembly ; and shall par* 
ticularly give satisfaction to them of the soundness of their 
faith, in opposition to Arminian and Prelatical corruptions." 
— At a meeting of the President and Fellows in 1753, the fol- 
lowing Preamble and Resolutions, among others were passed : 
— "Whereas, the principal design of the pious founders of 
Yale College was, to educate and train up youth for the Minis* 
try, in the Churches of this Colony, according to the Doctrine, 
Discipline, and mode of worship received and practised in 
them ; and they particularly ordered, that the students should 
be established in the principles of religion, and grounded in 
polemical divinity, according to the Assembly'^s Catechism, 
Dr, Ames'^ Medulla, and Cases of Conscience, and that special 
care should be taken, in the education of students, not to suf- 
fer them to be instructed in any different principles or doc- 
trines ; and that all proper measures should be taken to 
promote the power and purity of religion, and the best edifi- 
cation and peace of these Churches : we, the successors of 
the said Founders, being in our own judgments of the same 
principles in religion with our predecessors, and esteeming 
ourselves hound infidelity to the trust committed to us, to carry 
on the same design, and improve all the College estate de- 
scended to us, for the purposes for which it was given, do ex- 
plicitly resolve as follows ; viz. — That the Ass^mbly'^s Cate- 
chism, and the Confession of Faith received and established 
in this Colony, (which is an abridgement of the Westminster 
Confession,) contain a true and just summary of the most im- 
portant doctrines of the Christian religion, and that the true 
sense of the Sacred Scriptures is justly collected and summed 
up in these compositions, and all expositions of the Scripture 
pretending to deduce any doctrines or positions contrary to 
the doctrines laid down in these composures, we are of opin- 



25 

ion are wiH)ng and erroneous : * * * That we will always 
take all proper and reasonable measures, such as Christian 
prudence shall direct, to continue and propagate the doctrines 
contained in these summaries of religion in this College, and 
transmit them to all future successions and generations ; and 
to use the like measures to prevent the contrary doctrines 
from prevailing in this society* That every person who shall 
hereafter be chosen a President, Fellow, Professor of Divinity, 
or Tutor, in this College shall, before he enters upon the 
execution of his office, publickly give his consent to the said 
Catechism and confession of faith, as containing a just summa- 
ry of the Christian religion, as before expressed." 

I might quote much more to the same purpose in relation 
to the religious instruction of the students, the Tests imposed 
upon the Officers, and the designs of the pious founders of the 
Institution : and in regard to the last particular, I may well 
apply the principle so distinctly laid down by the writers of 
the pamphlet. — ^" This fact lays the Trustees under a most se- 
rious responsibility. They are bound to see these donations 
applied to the purposes so distinctly stated. Their success- 
ors are bound to do the same. — -No obligations are more sa- 
cred than those of a publick trust : and every sentiment of 
honour and of conscience unites in impelling the Trustees to 
an actual fulfilment of the conditions, on which the trust was 
created." If it is replied, that " the restrictions and require- 
ments have been repealed"; — lean only say, that, on the 
principles stated by the writers themselves, the trust has been 
violated against all "honour and conscience," unless the con- 
ditions on which it was created are fulfilled by less direct 
means. I am aware, that, at a special meeting of the Corpo- 
ration of that Institution, in the City of Hartford, the day be- 
fore the petition for Washington College was presented to the 
General Assembly, the Test which had been imposed upon 
the Officers was repealed. The time was indeed thought by 
some to be rather critically chosen. A few were heard to 
express their fears, that the repeal, at that particular junc- 

4 



26 

ture, was intended to prevent the success of the petition * 
although others were ready to impute the measure to a con- 
viction, that the time for making Yale College " an impartial 
Literary Institution" had fully arrived. But it does not ap- 
pear, from the appointments made since thie repeal, that there 
is any settkd design to vary the policy of the Institution ; 
and it cannot be concealed, that the same Corporation which 
rescinded, can at any time restore the regulation. In regard 
to the Fellows, indeed, who possess a controuling influence in 
the corporation, it is understood that the Test-law is stilL in 
force ; and that every Fellow is required, on his election, to 
declare his assent to the principles of the Assembly's Cate- 
chism, and the Saybrook Platform ; and pledge himself to 
" take all reasonable measures, to continue and propagate the 
doctrines contained in these summaries of religion." 

I am not disposed to charge the administration of Yale Col- 
lege with any departure from the principles laid down in the 
publick acts of its Corporation. I have no complaint to 
make, that the purposes of its pious founders have not been 
religiously adhered to ; for if a few ex-officio members have 
been admitted, some of whom might not readily subscribe the 
Test referred to, it was on the ground of liberal, legislative en- 
dowment, and never by voluntary election. Though it might 
seem that, in a case of extreme necessity, an ancient bulwark 
had been somewhat weakened by the repeal of the Officers' 
Test-law, the care evinced, that the Professors, elected since 
that time, should be taken from those, who, as Tutors had for- 
merly subscribed to that instrument, shews a laudable deter- 
mination that the citadel shall not thereby he endangered. , 

Much praise is bestowed by the writers of the Consider- 
ations on the government of Yale College for " strict impar- 
tiality and delicate reserve on the distinctive opinions of dif- 
ferent denominations." It is far from my intention to ques- 
tion these claims, although I must profess myself unable to re- 
concile this " delicate reserve," with the design of the found- 
ers already stated. The assertion is the more admirable, from 



27 

its having been made with the knowledge that, out of the severe 
Professorships attached to that institution, three are devoted 
to Theology,^ With this fact before me, I might have found 
it difficult to believe in the " strict impartiality and delicate 
reserve" maintained by the officers on controverted subjects, 
if I had not been assured of its truth. Still, I cannot help 
feeling anxious to know what is taught by these Theological 
Professors, and how they conduct their discussions on " dis- 
tinctive opinions," so as to "exert no influence in favour of 
one denomination, or against another." I should have 
thought, that a " Dwight Professor of Didactic Theology," 
or a " Professor of Divinity," or a " Lecturer on Sacred 
Literature," would sometimes feel embarrassed how to pre- 
serve that strict neutrality on controverted points, which we 
are now informed they do. Should it be replied, that two of 
these Professors are exclusively devoted to the students in 
Theology, it would still be natural to inquire, whether the 
systematic course of Divinity delivered to the students in the 
College Chapel on Sundays, might not sometimes derange 
this boasted equilibrium : and whether the existence of a zeal- 
ous body of Theological students, in the very heart of the In- 
sitution, with a Professor at their head, might not have some 
influence of a sectarian nature. Indeed, when I look at the 
Theological school, which has lately been grafted on the stock 
of Yale College, a measure which has not a little staggered 
the public faith in its neutrality, I cannot help enquiring with 
the writers of the pamphlet, " are Colleges the proper in- 
struments for this purpose ? Is not this wrong in principle ; 
and calculated, if followed by other denominations, to destroy 
all confidence in our Literary Institutions ?" Do they not 
" hold it to be a dangerous, a most dangerous principle to 
create a Literary Institution for the convenience or aggran- 
dizement of any religious sect ? — That the principle is radi- 
cally erroneous, and fraught with alarming consequences ?" 
Perhaps it is : and what I chiefly admire in these writers, is, 



* One of these is styled a Lecturer on Sacred Literature. 



28 

the hardihood with which they affirm, that " the College is an 
impartial Literary Institution, exerting no influence in favour 
of one denomination, or against another." I confess I never 
should have looked for an impartial Institution in one, 
nearly half of whose Professors are Lecturers on Theology. 
Still, it would not he courteous in me to question the veracity 
of these writers, however improbable the neutrality of Yale 
College may seem ; hut it cannot be concealed, that the fact 
rests on their bare assertion. The attachment of a professed- 
ly Theological department to a Literary Institution, might 
seem to many a most " powerful means of controuling reli- 
gious opinion:" — that it was "invading by the spirit of a 
sect, the common ground on which all denominations meet ;" 
and " changing a Literary Institution into an instrument of 
sectarian aggrandizement." But the writers of the pamphlet 
have no such suspicion. Having " collected for themselves 
that information, which they had a right to expect from the 
advocates of the new Institution," they have given the re- 
sult of their Considerations to the world — that Washing- 
ington College, with no Professor of Didactic Theology, &c, 
&;c. is an instrument of proselytism ; while Yale College, 
with its three Lecturers on Theology, and a class of students 
in divinity, is an impartial Literary Institution ! This is 
marvellous indeed. Although we are often reminded of the 
strict impartiality and reserve maintained by the government 
of Yale College on distinctive opinions, yet, is there not a 
most powerful influence necessarily exerted over the students 
at large, by this formidable array of Theologians ? It would 
be strange if there was not. I do not now speak of direct 
attempts to make proselytes. At this advanced period of 
civil and religious liberty, of light and knowledge, such at- 
tempts would be neither politick nor successful ; nor do I 
charge it upon the Officers of Yale College. But how " an 
influence, subtle and overmastering," can be separated from 
the array of " powerful, sagacious, and determined minds," 
which form the Theological corps of that Seminary, I am tO"^ 



4 



29 

tally at a loss to conceive. That it has an enormous dispro- 
portion of Theological Instructors, is with me no subject of 
complaint. Every sect has a right to make what provi- 
sions it thinks proper, for the religious instruction of its youth ; 
and there is no reason why the friends of Yale College should 
be excepted. Although some might think there was an in- 
consistency, in incorporating so large a Theological depart- 
ment into the body of " an impartial Literary Institution,'* 
and be greatly perplexed to understand how " all sects 
of Christians stand on precisely the same level," when it is 
well known, that every member of the Faculty is a Congre- 
gationalist, still I am not at war with the principle adopted at 
that Seminary, and vehemently, but thoughtlessly, disclaimed 
by the authors of the pamphlet — the right of every sect to 
" consult the interests of their own Church," in their Lite- 
rary Institutions. If " the principle is felt to be radically in- 
correct, and fraught with alarming consequences," why has 
Yale College acted upon it for more than a century ? Indeed, 
the writers seem to have forgotten the actual state of things 
in that Seminary, when they penned the charges of sectarian- 
ism against the new Institution ; or they possibly thought the 
whole community as ignorant as they wished them to be. 
They have provoked a comparison of the principles on which 
the two Institutions are founded, and are welcome to the 
benefits of it. 

I have no disposition to complain of the conductors of Yale 
College, for their adherence to the religious principles of 
their founders, or for any incidental and necessary advanta- 
ges they possess for propagating their peculiar sentiments, be- 
yond what can exist in Washington College. But if those, 
who profess to be friends of the former, are so imprudent as 
to set up exclusive pretensions in its favour, and advance the 
unfounded charge of sectarianism against others, they have 
no right to complain if their pretensions are enquired into, and 
the imputation fixed where it justly belongs. They ap- 
peared so anxious for a scrutiny on this point, that I could 



30 

not help indulging them with a few expository remarks &n 
the religious character of their favourite Institution, forti- 
fied by appropriate quotations from one of its Presidents. 

The writers of the Considerations appear to he very ap- 
prehensive, that further grants to Yale College will be " di- 
minished, or entirely suspended," by the establishment of 
the new Institution. They are apprehensive that large sums 
of money will be " extorted from the State ;" that she will 
be called upon " needlessly to exhaust her strength" for its 
endowment ; and very modestly warn all future Legislators 
to beware ; and pray to know how they would dare to " meet 
their constituents" after " such an act," as making a grant 
of money to Washington College. This is all very moving, 
no doubt. But, while they look forward to a " scene of cor- 
ruption," " to secret intrigues, and attempts to bargain away 
the publick money," one would think they might have 
quieted their apprehensions by adverting to their own state- 
ment, that " the charter was granted with the pledge and 
understanding that all intention of applying to the State for aid 
was explicitly disclaimed." This pledge thei/ state, was 
given by the Rev. Chairman of the Committee who presented 
the petition, to " distinguished members of the Legislature." 
On this point, however, the writers of the Considerations, 
to say the least, have been led into an error ; and the pecu- 
liar vehemence with which they insist on the pledge, begets a 
shrewd suspicion that they thought so themselves. I have 
taken the liberty to inquire of the Rev. Chairman referred to, 
who authorizes me to say, that '• the statement is entirely des- 
titute of foundation : — that any intention of applying for 
legislative bounty, at the time when the charter was granted, 
was indeed disclaimed ; but that when he was once or twice 
asked to give a pledge that no future application should be 
made, he expressly declared that he possessed no such pow- 
er, and that such a pledge would be altogether nugatory." 

How indeed could that gentleman give a pledge, which was 
to bind a Board of Trustees unknown to him, because not 



31 

then appointed by the Legislature ; and what is still more, a 
pledge, which should bind their successors to the remotest 
generations ? xA.nd even if the General Assembly had required 
and received such a pledge, is it not easy to see, that if any 
future Legislature should be disposed to make a grant of 
funds, they would be equally ready to dispense with the obU- 
gation of the pledge ? It certainly would not have been very 
creditable to the wisdom of the Legislature to have granted a 
charter, with a " pledge and understanding" by which nobody 
would be bound. The Trustees, I presume, are not " dispo- 
sed to shrink from a pledge" which was never given ; and if 
" there are many who will remember it," they will remem- 
ber that which never happened. Whether application will 
ever be made for legislative assistance, is another question. 
I do not understand that such a measure is yet contemplated 
by the Trustees : it will be time enough to discuss its proprie- 
ty when the application shall be made. In the mean time, I 
feel well assured that the Legislature will not be deterred 
from doing what the publick good may require, by any appeals 
to supposed prejudices, much less by the insinuations and 
threats of anonymous pamphleteers. 

While on this subject, it may be well to take notice of cer- 
tain other pledges^ which are said to have been given to 
the inhabitants of Middletown ; — and " which were violated,^^ 
The writers doubtless meant to have it understood, that these 
*' violated pledges" were made by the gentleman already 
referred to ; and I am only surprized at their unwonted cour- 
teousness in condescending to mask the charge beneath the 
shelter of an insinuation. The subject, I acknowledge, is 
one rather of partial, than of general interest ; but feeling 
very much the same disposition to defend the character of a 
friend against traducers, that I should to protect his body from 
poisoning or assassination, I addressed myself again to this 
gentleman, and give the following extract from his reply : — 
" You are at liberty to state most explicitly, that I never had 
the presumption to pledge the Board of Trustees to any 



32 

measure, on any particular course of conduct whatever : nor 
did I ever pledge myself to any gentleman in Middletown, to 
endeavour to influence the Trustees to establish the College 
in that city. When the Board had determined to receive 
proposals for the further endowment of the College, with 
reference to its location, I considered it to be an object for 
the fair and laudable competition of the principal cities in the 
State. Believing that the Institution would flourish, either 
in Hartford, Middletown, or New-Haven ; that it would bring 
with it important literary and pecuniary advantages, and that 
either of the places was able to raise the requisite sum to 
render the charter available, I encouraged gentlemen of each 
city to enter into competition for its location. But from this 
time, I considered myself precluded from taking any part in 
determining the location ; and while I was ready to admit the 
particular excellencies of each place, I freely told gentle- 
men that each must depend upon its subscriptions and local 
advantages, and that I felt myself bound in fairness to all, 
neither to vote on the question, nor to use any influence with 
other members of the Board.— The Trustees will all declare 
that I adhered scrupulously to this course. Those members 
who lived in Hartford, Middletown, and New-Haven, might 
each be expected to vote in favour of their own city. For 
the other members, who ultimately voted for the location in 
Hartford, I confidently appeal to them, that I never convers- 
ed with them on the subject, of gave them to understand, di- 
rectly or indirectly, what were my wishes in the case." 

I scarcely know which to admire most — the remarkable 
good sense manifested by the authors of the pamphlet, in lis- 
tening so readily to unfounded rumours, or their exquisite 
charity, in publickly attacking the character of an eminent and 
respected individual. That they religiously believed every 
word they heard reported to his disadvantage, I have no rea- 
son to doubt ; but that they should condescend to pick up and 
circulate tales of scandal, which reflect discredit on those 
only who publish them, is really a matter of astonishment. 



33 

They must excuse me if, on this occasion, I take the liberty of 
borrowing their own remark, that " to attack character by 
insinuations, or general statements without proof, will subject 
any writer to publick detestation." 

It would not be very surprising, if some person of ardent 
feelings should be found in Middietown, who might construe a 
general encouragement to enter into competition, and an ad- 
mission of the local advantages of his city, into a guarantee 
that the College should be placed there : but that any of them 
have seriously complained of violated pledges, I have no oth- 
er evidence than the assertion of these writers ; and I believe 
the respectable gentlemen of that place will not be disposed 
to thank them for their officiousness. The subscriptions at 
Middietown certainly gave a distinguished proof of the liber- 
ality and publick spirit of its inhabitants, which could not fail 
to command the admiration of the Trustees, and even of their 
more successful competitors. I am happy to learn that they 
have turned their attention to a kindred object, and that they 
are rearing an Institution which will probably attract to this 
state a number of youth, from other portions of the union. 

Having disposed of the subject of violated pledges, to the 
satisfaction I hope of these writers, I have now to take notice 
of another charge of unworthy means employed by the friends 
of Washington College — the formidable mission to a '^foreign 
joozyer." A foreign power ! I never heard that the subject 
was laid before the British Cabinet, or discussed within the 
walls of St. Stephens, or even submitted to the Secretary for 
Foreign Affairs. Something of this kind must have been done 
to constitute it a mission to a foreign power ; although I am 
bound to believe, that the writers actually did not know the 
difference between a mission to a foreign ^ozoer, and an appli- 
cation to individuals for books and philosophical instruments. 
But let that pass. — Were I to sympathise with them in their 
distress at the " degradation,'^^ which the national character 
has suffered, I should have to lament the mission of the Rev. 
Dr. Mason to the same power a few years since, by which he 



34 

obtained a library, said to be worth ten thousand dollars, for 
a Presbyterian Theological Seminary ; a great portion of 
which was from the liberality of Episcopalians. I should also 
have been shocked at two recent successful missions to the 
same jooruer, from the Baptist College intheCity of Washington, 
the very focus of "national character." I should have been 
greatly alarmed, moreover, by the very recent mission to the 
same joozoer from the Central University in Virginia, by which 
I am told five Professors have been engaged for that Institu- 
tion — a measure I should apprehend much more " degrading" 
to our national character, as well as dangerous to our liberties, 
than the collection of a library abroad. Indeed, if I had all 
the feverish sensibilities of these writers, I might drop a tear 
over the degradation of Great JBritain for permitting one of 
her subjects, the Rev. Mr. Ward, to receive from the power 
of the United States ten or twelve thousand dollars for the 
Baptist College at Serampore ; and the still more recent mis- 
sion of two distinguished Methodist Clergymen from England 
to this country ; — as who shall know the treasons and " foreign 
attachments" which might have been connected with these 
embassies ! 

But the authors of the pamphlet have given us a copious 
commentary on certain documents, in relation to this mission 
to England. After all the misrepresentations (doubtless un- 
intentional) which they have made on this point, it may be 
well to give the facts of the case. — A committee was appoint- 
ed by the Trustees of the College to take the requisite meas- 
ures for its endowment ; and as the Rev. Mr. Wheaton was 
desirous of visiting England, for the benefit of his health, they 
determined to authorise him to receive donations towards the 
supply of a Library and Philosophical apparatus. He was 
furnished with a general letter of introduction, signed by the 
Chairman and Secretary of the Committee, and addressed to 
the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, of the Church of England. As 
it was not designed to give any more publicity to his object 
than was necessary, it was expected that he would present 



> 



35 

this letter to such gentlemen only, as he might hope to interest 
in favour of the College. After his arrival, circumstances 
occurred which induced him to print this letter, together with 
a statement of his own, conveying information on the state of 
our Colleges. These he put into the hands of those persons 
who were thought most likely to forward his views ; they were 
never considered nor intended as " pubhc documents." The 
one was simply a letter of introduction ; the other was a 
statement of an individual, for which none are responsible but 
himself. Now, these papers seem to me very harmless in 
their nature, and calculated to answer the purpose for which 
they were intended. And had it not been for the perspicacity 
of our pamphleteers, and the changes which have been rung 
upon the same theme in the newspapers, I should have never 
dreamed that they were calculated to " load another genera- 
tion with the reproach of foreign influence and foreign attach- 
ments." At any rate, I should have thought that the charac- 
ters af the gentlemen whose names are attached to these pa- 
pers, would have been sufficient to screen them from such 
imputations. I do recollect the time when the charge of 
" foreign influence and foreign attachments" was alledged 
against some of the citizens of our Commonwealth ; but I be- 
lieve the Trustees of Washington College have never been 
under such an imputation. 

It is in the last paragraph but one of the introductory letter, 
that the passage occurs, which has drawn such fructifying com- 
mentaries from the writers in question. It has been paraded 
before the public again, and again, and again ; in italics, in 
capitals, and all the figures of the press : and all this, for no 
earthly purpose that I can conceive, but to awaken certain 
prejudices which they suppose to exist, and to convey insinu- 
ations which they must know to be groundless. — It is asserted, 
that " between nations as among individuals, a common reli- 
ligion is a strong bond of union." And is not this the fact? 
The wisest men have thought so ; and I know of no ill conse- 
quences which are likely to result from this tendency in hu- 



36 

man nature. It is also considered a desirable object to 
strengthen the bands of relationship and amity between the 
two countries. I hope there is nothing treasonable in this. 
I can scarcely take up a publick document relating to inter- 
national intercourse, in which I do not meet with similar lan- 
guage. — But the essence of the treason seems to consist in the 
affirmation, that " the best friends which Great Britain has in 
America will be found among the members of the Episcopal 
Church." It had perhaps been better to have said " some 
of the best friends, &;c." But I am yet to learn that such a 
friendship implies any want of allegiance or devotion to our 
own country and government. Forty years ago, the expres- 
sion might have been thought to countenance such an infer- 
ence, but 'experience has shown that nothing could be more 
unjust at the present day. — After all, it is probable that the 
signers of the letter would not be anxious to defend the phrase. 
It is very likely that the possible construction of the words 
was not weighed and balanced with that scrupulous accuracy, 
in a mere letter of introduction, which would have been de- 
manded in a document designed for the pubhck eye. Should 
the writers resume their Considerations hereafter, they may 
be able by the help of the facts and explanations I have 
given, to condense their speculations on this fruitful theme into 
the compass of three or four pages. 

But there is still another passage in this letter, which has 
called forth some very sagacious strictures from the authors of 
the pamphlet. The College is spoken of as " calculated to 
promote the prosperity of the Church in this country, and to 
oppose an effectual barrier to those spreading errours, which 
are dividing and destroying the other religious communions." 

Had Washington College been the only Institution, in our 
country designed to promote the prosperity of a Church ; and 
had not Yale College been established on principles more de- 
cidedly, more exclusively sectarian, it is possible that some 
of the fine declamations of these writers might have been to 
the purpose. The pretensions of Yale College to be " an im- 



37 

partial Literary Institution," exerting no influence of a sec- 
tarian character, have been examined at some length ; and 
the reader is probably surprised at the confidence with which 
they have been advanced. But, apart from the incorporation 
of a Theological department in the body of a Literary Institu- 
tion, reflecting men have observed that a College conduces 
to the extension of the Church under whose patronage and 
guidance it is, by the very fact, that the minds of a large por- 
tion of the community, and the most influential portion of it 
too, are formed within its walls. The conductors of it are 
usually Clergymen ; and when they are all of one denomina- 
tion, selected on account of superior intellectual endowments, 
and placed as they are in immediate and perpetual contact 
with the students, it is idle to pretend that their influence is 
not felt, even where none is exerted through design. It is not 
necessary to my argument to prove that the youth of other 
denominations are treated with any unfairness at such a Col- 
lege, or that they are influenced to change their religious 
opinions. 

A College naturally collects a larger number of youth be- 
longing to its own denomination than would seek a publick 
education if the College were in other hands ; and thus, new 
influence is continually added to that denomination in society, 
by the fact that it comprehends the greatest proportion of ed- 
ucated men. Many youth, too, who enter the College with 
no settled choice of a profession, are induced, during their 
Collegiate residence, to become candidates for the ministry, 
and thus to give importance and extension to the Church. 
The petitioners for Washington College were perfectly aware 
of these facts ; they had long observed the silent but powerful 
influence of a College in promoting the prosperity and extension 
of a Church ; and on the strength of these observations, I am 
ready to justify every expression contained in the letter of 
introduction, or the statement, relative to the promotion of 
the prosperity of the Episcopal Church by means of a Col- 
lege. It is well known that many Episcopalians in this State 



38 

have felt a reluctance towards sending their sons to Yale Col-* 
lege. Whether there was any just foundation for such a re- 
luctance, is not now the question. Such however has been 
the fact; and this reluctance has not been diminished by the 
late measure of grafting a Theological School on a profess- 
edly impartial Literary Institution. The consequence has 
been, that fewer of their sons have received a publick educa- 
tion than could have been desired, and the numbers of their 
well-educated Clergy have by no means kept pace with the 
progress of population in our country. While the Congrega- 
tionalists of New-England had a choice among eight Semina- 
ries under their own immediate controul, where they could 
educate their sons, the Episcopalians had not one ; and now 
that they have succeeded, after a twenty years' struggle, in 
obtaining a charter, they are assailed with a senseless clamour, 
as though they had committed some enormous outrage on re- 
ligious liberty. Other denominations are extending their 
Churches by means of their Colleges ; but in Episcopalians it 
is a crime, it seems, to entertain such a wish. They are still 
to be kept dependant. They are not allowed to be judges in 
their own case, whether a College is necessary or not. The 
gracious permission of a few self-constituted guardians of edu" 
cation must be obtained, before they can be allowed to pro- 
ceed. To seek the prosperity of their Church by the harm- 
less means of educating their own sons under their own eyes, 
is pronounced to be an unprecedented scheme, when it is noto- 
rious that every College in New-England was founded for re- 
ligious as well as for literary purposes. What was the object 
of the pious founders of Yale College, we have already seen. 
" Undoubtedly they are willing to receive money and admit 
students from other denominations ;" for every farthing they 
receive, and every student they admit, is an augmentation of 
their influence and strength, and conduces of course to the 
prosperity and extension of their Church. The writers of the 
pamphlet may choose to appear ignorant of this ; but the ar- 
tifice cannot succeed ; — every intelligent man in the commu- 



39 

nity perfectly understands the fact. Had they taken these cir- 
cumstances into their consideration, they might have spared us 
some of their eloquent Phillippics Sig^mst sectarian Colleges 
through a wholesome fear of suffering from a recoil. They 
might have omitted, at least, to tell us that " Literature if pro- 
perly applied, is a powerful means of controulingrehgious opin- 
ions," and that "around our Literary Institutions, the ministers 
of religion have always been the first to take their stand," see- 
ing that both remarks are as applicable to one Institution as 
to another. But these things did not '• press upon their 
weakened memory." Apparently despising the weakness 
of those whom they have somewhat rudely assailed, they 
have thought it unworthy of themselves to attempt to con- 
ceal any vulnerable point, and have generously exposed eve- 
ry unguarded place in their eagerness to demolish the new 
College. But, if we may trust their representations, they are 
acting only in self-defence. "Ardently as they wish for 
peace," of which, the pamphlet, I presume, is intended as a 
proof and example, they "cannot be expected to purchase it 
by the surrender of their ngA^9." With all due deference to 
these gentlemen, lam of opinion that those rights, which are 
inconsistent with the rights of other denominations, must be 
surrendered. It is to be recollected that, in their nomencla- 
ture, " rights" mean exclusive privileges. Their favourite 
College has, for a century possessed the right of educating the 
youth of all denominations in the state ; and rather than re- 
linquish the least portion of this monopoly, they avow them- 
selves prepared to defend it to the last. If this is not their 
meaning, one half of their pamphlet appears to be utter non- 
sense. 

They seem to take it unkindly that the College is spoken of 
as calculated to " oppose an effectual barrier to those spread- 
ing errours which are dividing and destroying the other reli- 
gious communions." My readers need not be told, and I 
mention it solely for the information of these writers, that a 
barrier is an instrument of defence not of aggression. The 
barrier, referred to on this occasion, was spoken of as calcula- 



40 

ted to defend the Episcopal Church from the encroachment of 
formidable errours. What those errours were I presume not 
to say ; it is sufficient to know that the Christian world is di* 
vided, and that each sect is ready to defend its own doctrines, 
and to guard against the errours which are destroying the oth- 
er communions. Those who deem sincerity a part of their 
Christian faith, and the maintainance of truth a part of their 
religious duty, will not object to this. No one who under- 
stands the import of words, (always excepting the writers of the 
pamphlet,) could suppose that this barrier of defence might he 
made an instrument of hostile aggression ; and transported into 
the enemies territory — serve to reclaim, correct, and with- 
draw the erroneous from the errour of their ways. If these 
gentlemen will take the trouble to consult their dictionary, 
they will find that a harrier is neither an instrument of cor- 
rection, nor withdrawing, nor reclaiming, nor extention 5 but 
simply one of defence against hostile attacks. Hence, to erect 
a barrier against spreading errours, is nothing more than to op- 
pose an obstacle to their progress. But according to the logic 
of these writers, it means, that all denominations " are involv- 
ed in a charge of errour, and are to be reclaimed." — Admira- 
ble as all this may appear, it is not more amusing than their 
consternation at having those errours arrested, which are di- 
viding and destroying other religious communions. I should 
have supposed they would be rather glad than otherwise of an 
ally in so good a cause ; but as they seem to prefer being di- 
vided and destroyed^ it would be unkind not to indulge them. 

As they have expressed some displeasure at two or three 
passages in the statement, to which I have already alluded, 
they will probably expect satisfaction on those points. Yale 
College is said to be exclusively directed by Congregational- 
ists; and this they affirm to be " totally incorrect." Now, so 
long as every member of the Faculty of that College is known 
to be a Congregationalist, I must beheve that the assertion 
complained of was entirely correct. I can think of no meth- 
od of quieting their uneasiness, at finding the Episcopal Church 



41 

in this country called the "American Church," so proper, as 
by assuring them, that a member of the Established Church 
in England would understand by it, the American Episcopal 
Church, and no other. Surely none but a writer inveterately 
bent on " making points" could discover in this title, an " ex- 
clusion of the pious of every other communion from the Chris- 
tian covenant, and a denial of them to be the Churches of 
Christ." It will not of course follow therefore, that " on the 
same principle, the writer ought to have said, there are only 
three American Colleges ; because there are but three under 
the special direction of that sect." Three Episcopal Col- 
leges ! Here is a marvellous increase of them from two to 
three within as many pages. Falstaff's " rogues in buckram" 
did not multiply faster. " These four came all a-front, and 
mainly thrust at me. I made me no more ado, but took all 
their seven points in my target, thus." The fact, in relation 
to two of these Colleges, has been already stated ; but which 
the third is, I cannot even conjecture. — The '^ Editor''^ com- 
municated nothing new, when he informed the publick, that 
the Academy at Cheshire, and several others in the United 
States, were expressly denominated Episcopal. A relative 
importance they certainly have, nor is their high usefulness 
questioned, when they are not ranked among the " important 
classical Institutions" of the country. 

But the censure of these writers is not confined to Wash- 
ington College and its immediate friends. The students of 
our Southern States, incur a full share of their animadversion. 
We ask, say they, " and ask again, has experience proved, 
that students from the South, or from large cities, exert any 
peculiarly salutary effect, on the government of our Literary 
Institutions ? Are their expectations in life, their habits of ex- 
pense, their early course of discipline, such as to be particu- 
larly desirable, in forming the habits of our plain Northern 
Youth ?" Without presuming to trace the connexion, be- 
tween this question and the other parts of the pamphlet, it is 

sufficient to observe, that where the government of a College is 

6 



42 

paternal, where the exercise of power is Hmited and discreet, 
where the principle of honour is made subservient to the prac- 
tice of duty, there is not a class of students better calculated 
to exalt the reputation of a Literary Institution, or less likely 
to incur the censure of those who watch over its concerns. 
I know it has been fashionable, to impute most of the diffi- 
culties, which occur in the government of our Literary Insti- 
tutions, to the habits and early discipline of southern students. 
A more ample investigation of this subject, has led to the 
conclusion, that improvement in the government of our Col- 
leges would be the most effectual method of removing the 
difficulties complained of : And I am happy to learn that the 
Corporation of Harvard, by adopting the report of their com- 
mittee on the subject of Collegiate Discipline, have manifest- 
ed a disposition to commence the work of reformation, and to 
render the government of that ancient University more con- 
formable to the improvements of the age. 

I ought, perhaps, to apologize to these writers for not meet- 
ing them fully on all their eleven ''points'^'* of argument. But, 
in truth, I wish to write as much as possible to the purpose, 
and must therefore excuse myself from meddling with those 
which have no bearing on the merits of the question. As the 
writers have taken the liberty of making such a formidable 
number of points, 1 must also claim the liberty of judging 
whether the examination of them is necessary to my argu- 
ment, notwithstanding their somewhat magisterial assertion, 
that " he who does not fairly meet us on these points, does 
not meet us at all," Whether they have been fairly met on 
the real points at issue, is left for the publick to judge. I beg 
leave moreover to commend them for " omitting to say much 
that might be said, and that is publickly said with unsparing 
severity, on the means adopted to promote the interests of the 
new College." The omission was certainly judicious. 
Some will think they have already indulged in more evil- 
speaking than is consistent with their own credit, or that of 
their cause ; others will suspect that these omissions are de- 



43 

signed to be held in terrorem over the heads of those who, 
like myself, are disposed to question the correctness of their 
statements. Like the humble servant of Sir Hugh Piper, 
they would seem disposed to wind up the controversy, " not 
for want of matter, having abundance more and better at our 
service, which may hereafter be given to the world in the 
shape of an after-thought." 

I cordially join them in hoping that they will not think any 
more defamation expedient ; but should they change their 
mind, I cannot help advising them, for the sake of consisten- 
cy at least, to say no more about " the grace of God," and 
" love and good works," and the " harmony of social life," 
and " fair argument," and " ten words spoken in the spirit 
of meekness," quoted on this, as on most occasions, by those 
who think ten words better than more. That they will feel 
desirous of prolonging the controversy which they have so 
uselessly begun, I am authorized by their own words to be- 
lieve ; but whether they will heaiken to the better counsel, 
which, I have no doubt will be administered to them, remains 
yet to be seen. They cannot, however, for a moment sup- 
pose, that the friends of Washington College will be induced, 
by any representations of theirs, to abandon an Institution, 
which they have reared amidst so much opposition and re- 
proach ; and they must have an ill opinion of this community 
if they suppose they will be countenanced in their schemes of 
oppression. Let Yale College continue to flourish, and to 
do good : but let not the misguided zeal of a few of its friends 
induce them to wage an unjust warfare against the younger 
Institution. That both may prosper together, and prove 
blessings to the country, is the deliberate judgment of one, who 
is a friend to washington college, and no enemy to 
Yale. 



APPENDIX. 



To those who may he desirous of more particular information 
concerning the situation and peculiar advantages of Washing- 
ton College, than has yet been given to the public, thefollozu- 
ing brief account may he acceptable, 

THIS Institution is situated on an eminence about 
half a mile from the City of Hartford. In front it over- 
looks the City, and commands an extensive view of the Con- 
necticut River, and its luxurient valley. In the rear its 
grounds are bounded by a fine stream of water, beyond 
which is a range of rural scenery not often surpassed in beau- 
ty. — The College is perfectly retired from the attractions and 
bustle of the City, and yet sufficiently near for all the purposes 
of convenience.- — No part of Connecticut enjoys a more 
salubrious climate ; and the great fertility of the neighbour- 
ing country ensures an abundant supply of the necessaries of 
life, at a very moderate rate. It is ascertained that the 
price of board will not exceed a dollar and fifty cents per 
week, in respectable boarding-houses contiguous to the Insti- 
tution. 

The City of Hartford enjoys peculiar facilities for commu- 
nication with every partofthe country. Stages arrive daily 
from all places of importance, within an extensive circuit ; 
— and the connexion with New- York by Steam-Boats is 
frequent and easy. Few places, containing a population of 
five or six thousand inhabitants, are more distinguished for 

7 



46 

sobriety and simplicity of manners, or present so few tempta- 
tions to dissipation and vice — the evils most to be dreaded in 
seminaries of learning. 

With respect to the discipline of the College, and the 
course of studies to be pursued, information may be found 
in a Prospectus published by order of the Trustees, and in 
an exhibition of their views contained in the public papers, 
which, although without a proper signature, is understood to 
proceed from an official source. — Without any disposition to 
disparage existing institutions, it must be conceded that, in 
I'egard to discipline there has been a general failure ; — a 
failure, which can only be accounted for, as the result of an 
adherance to systems, suited perhaps to the age and country 
in which they originated, but ill adapted to the feelings and 
habits which have been generated and fostered by our free 
institutions. We see voluminous codes of laws drawn up in 
reference to almost every shade of human depravity, but which 
seem little calculated to animate ingenuous young men in 
the pursuits of knowledge ; and it appears to be but the natu- 
ral result, that the students and officers, like the bad and 
good principles of the eastern mythology, should be array- 
ed in perpetual conflict ; the former in the commission of all 
possible offences — the latter in detecting and punishing them ; 
the latter struggling to maintain a precarious authority — the 
former bent on discovering new methods of annoyance. 
The Trustees of Washington College have adopted a differ- 
ent course of discipline. They have commenced on the 
principle that " the government of a College like that of a 
well regulated family should be paternal and discreet ;" that 
the officers, instead of appealing exclusively to the passion of 
fear, and mefling out so much punishment for so much trans- 
gression, should address themselves to the more generous and 
honourable feelings of the students : that in pointing out the 
path of duty, they should show them the pleasantness and 
peace which attend it ; that the legitimate objects of a col- 
legiate education should be constantly exhibited to their view 
— -to render themselves useful to society, a comfort to their 
family, and ornaments to the republic : that when offences 
are committed, they are to be regarded not merely as infrac- 
tions of College regulations, but as unworthy the character of 
young gentlemen conversant with the liberal arts and sci- 
ences — as weakening that self-respect, without which the 
respect of others can never be commanded — as discredita- 
ble to the Institution for whose reputation they are pledged — > 
as ungrateful returns for the kindness and confidence of theif* 



47 

parents, and the assiduity of their instructors — and as the in 
dications of a mean and groveUing spirit : that the industripus 
and virtuous are to be commended, the sluggish quickened,, 
the wayward reproved and restrained by repeated admoni- 
tions : that firmness is to be recommended by kindness — 
and finally, that those whom encouragement will not excite, 
nor admonition and reproof correct and reform, shall be dis- 
missed from the Institution, as answering neither the expecta- 
tions of their friends, nor the purposes for which it was 
established, but without any other marks of disgrace than those 
which they may have brought upon themselves. 

Far be it from me to advocate any relaxation of collegiate 
discipline and good order. But the perfection of govern- 
ment consists, not so much in detecting and punishing offences, 
as in preventing them by inspiring honourable and virtuous 
sentiments. Let officers and students regard each other as 
fellow-labourers in the field of science ; and let that awful 
distance, which is by some regarded as the palladium of au- 
thority, be diminished. While officers are not forgetful ot 
their station, there is little danger that pupils will be dis- 
posed to pass that obvious line, which superior age, and 
learning, and office designate. Let young men feel that as 
scholars they may hold a ready intercourse with their instruct- 
ors, and they will endeavour to be scholars. This sentiment 
is confirmed by experience. The Father who, from his cold 
reserve, should possess no share in the confidence of the Son. 
would have but little hold upon his virtue. The sense of 
character among students may be elevated, without lowering 
in the least degree the true dignity of Presidents, and Profes- 
sors, and Tutors.^ — The principles here advocated are in 
accordance with the principles of our nature 5 and where 
they are judiciously acted upon, there can be no doubt of 
the salutary result. 

It is an important feature in the discipline of Washing- 
ton College, that no money is allowed to he placed in the hands 
of students hy their parents or guMrdians^ " The funds de- 
signed for their use will be lodged with the College Bursar, 
who will apply them, with a parental discretion, to the pay- 
ment of their necessary expenses, and no others will be allow- 
ed." The expense of an education will thus be greatly 
reduced, while the cause of morality will be subserved, by 
the prevention of that extravagance and dissipation but too 
common among the students of all our Colleges. The sons 
of the wealthy will be kept from those excesses, wlwch, while 
they defeat the proper objects of a collegiate residence,, 
frequently result in ruiiied fortune, impaired constitution, 



48 

and blighted reputation. The poor man's son will not be 
tempted, by the example of others, into those habits of prodi- 
gality, which have so often wrung from the hand of labour its 
last earnings, and stinted, almost to penury, the domestic 
board, in the fond but delusive expectation, that soon the 
anxieties and privations of parental affection, would be more 
than repaid in the honour and prosperity of the absent 
object of its hopes and prayers. The feasibility of this part 
of the plan is no longer matter of speculation. The experi- 
ment has been tried, with the happiest results. And it may 
be added, that students of other Colleges, possessing ample 
resources, have been heard to declare, that the extravagant 
expenditures into which they have been seduced, were mat- 
ters of fashion rather than of inclination ; and that if they could 
be wholly prevented, all would be better satisfied. 

With respect to the religious services of the College, as a 
part of its disciphne, it is only necessary to state, in this place, 
that all the students are required to attend morning and eve- 
ning prayers, in the College Chapel ; but that on Sundays, 
they attend worship in whatever places their parents or guar- 
dians di^rect. While the conditions of the charter secure to 
all, of whatever denomination they may be, the privilege of 
equal rights, the character of the Church under whose aus- 
pices the Institution is conducted, and of the gentlemen who 
are entrusted with its management, affords a sufficient pledge 
to the public, that no measures injurious to the rights and feel- 
ings of other denominations will ever be attempted. 

It is one of the peculiar advantages of Washington Col- 
lege, that in addition to the regular system of collegiate edu- 
cation, di particular course of instruction is provided for. The 
nature and objects of this course are explained in the follow- 
ing extract from the Prospectus issued by the Board of Trus- 
tees. 

" Students of the partial course may be received for such 
length of time as their circumstances may dictate, or as 
the inclination of their Parents or Guardians may require. 
They may apply themselves to any of the studies contained 
in the regular course, with the privilege of attending the 
Lectures, and to the study of the Modern European Lan- 
guages, and such special branches of learning as the Faculty 
may from time to time prescribe. They may also be prepar- 
ed to join any of the higher classes in the regular course* 

Such students of the par^m/ cowrie as pursue their studies, 
for a period not less than two years, to the satisfaction of the 
Faculty, will, on leaving the Institution, receive an English 
Diploma, as a testimonial of their good conduct and pro- 



49 

liciency in learning. Students of the partial course may, 
however, continue for a longer period, and may apply them- 
selves to such studies as accord with the bent of their genius, 
or relate more especially to the pursuits to which they intend 
to devote themselves, to any extent that may be desired ; 
and if, in the end, the amount of their attainments shall 
be judged by the Faculty to be equal to the knowledge ac- 
quired in the regular course^ they may be candidates for 
the Degrees in the Arts, which are conferred on the students 
of that course." 

Such a course of instruction affords to the young men of 
our country the means of preparation for any profession or 
business which they may be disposed to adopt. There are 
many youth, of high promise, who have not the pecuniary 
means of obtaining a regular collegiate education; and there 
are many occupations, of great importance and respectabili- 
ty, for which a knowledge of the Ancient Languages consti- 
tute no essential preparation. To those who are ambitious of 
excelling in the Mechanic arts, or who would become re- 
spectable in Agricultural or Mercantile pursuits, every fa- 
ciUty is afforded. In the present state of our country, there 
can be no profession more certain of commanding lucrative 
and honorable employment than that of the Civil Engineer* 
It is accordingly provided that the construction of roads, 
bridges, and canals, with every other branch of internal im- 
provement, and the general principles of Architecture, shall 
be made the subject of instruction ; while to the future Mer- 
chant and Statesman, the Lectures on Political Economy — 
the principles of Government, Commerce, and Finance, can- 
not fail to be highly important. 

It appears that the Trustees have no design, by the estab- 
lishment of this course, to lower the standard of classical 
learning. By an inspection of their regular course of study, 
it will be found not inferior to those of the first Colleges in 
New-England ; and it is understood that they are ready to 
proceed, pari passu^ with, other Colleges, in raising it to a 
still higher standard. 

There is another ground on which Washington College 
especially commends itself to the patronage of the public : 
I allude to the practical character which is designed to be 
given to its course of education. On this point I may quote 
the views of the Trustees, as exhibited in the publication al- 
ready referred to. — " To those who are acquainted with our 
systems of pubhc education, it is a well known fact that most 
of the young men who study the sciences know but little 
viiOiQ oi ihQiv practical application when they receive their 



50 

degrees than they did when they entered College. Theory 
seems to be considered the province of the school, and jorac- 
tice the business of succeeding life. This is too much the 
case in every department of education ; and a much greater 
portion of a collegiate life is spent in disciplining the mind, 
than in the direct acquisition of knowledge. The truth is, the 
former ought to be done, and the latter ought not to be left 
undone ; and both objects will be more readily effected by 
pursuing them together. Impressed with these sentiments 
the Trustees of the new Institution have determined so 
to organize it, that the sciences shall be taught in a more 
practical way than in our existing Colleges, and that, as 
far as may be, the pupils shall be taught actually to perform 
all those operations of which they learn the rationale, — 
For example, while they are pursuing the study of Trigonom- 
etry, they will go into the fields with their instructor, with 
the proper instruments, measure the angles and sides of tri- 
angles, and make the proper computations. In learning the 
theory of Surveying, they will actually measure plots of 
ground in various ways, and calculate their contents. In the 
study of Navigation, they will take their solar and lunar ob- 
servations, and go through the necessary calculations for de- 
termining the latitude and longitude. They will learn the 
use of astronomical instruments, and the methods of obtain- 
ing the elements for computing the magnitudes, distances, and 
revolutions of the heavenly bodies." — " As Agriculture is the 
primary source of wealth and subsistence, and as a knowledge 
of it is highly useful to men of almost every profession, \i is 
designed to make it an important branch of education. It 
will be the province of the Professor of Agriculture, to ex- 
plain the nature of different soils, and their adaptation to the 
growth of particular vegetables ; the structure of plants, and 
the functions of the several vessels by which they receive and 
elaborate their food, and convert it into vegetable matter : 
the nature and operation of different manures, the proper suc- 
cession of crops, and all the means which conduce to the 
melioration of the soil. These, and other theoretical instruc- 
tions, will be illustrated by all the practical operations of 
husbandry and gardening. — Healthful and instructive occu- 
pations will thus be found for many hours which would other- 
wise be devoted to amusements, productive only of idle or 
dissipated habits ; and an interest will be given to the pursuits 
of science, which abstract theory would never excite ; our 
youth will acquire a taste for the active business of life, and 
will come forth fitted to become useful members of society." 



51 

Such is the course of discipline and instruction prescribed 
by the Trustees of Washington College. It must give them 
pleasure to learn, that almost every peculiar feature of their 
plan has recently been recommended for the adoption of the 
ancient University of Cambridge, by the Corporation of the 
latter Institution, drawn up by one of the most distinguished 
jurists in our country. 

It is only necessary to add, that the College commenced its 
operations in September last, and that it is expected one of 
the new buildings will be ready for occupation by the first of 
May next. 

The following extract, exhibiting a list of officers— requisites 
for entrance — and course of studies, is taken from the Pros- 
pectus issued by the Board of Trustees. 
" The Rt. Rev. THOMAS C. BRO WNELL, D. D. LL. D. 

President. 
The Rev. George W. Doane, A. M. Professor of Belles 

Lettres, and Oratory. 
Frederick Hall, A. M. Professor of Chemistry and Mine- 
ralogy. 
Horatio Hickok, A. M. Professor of Agriculture, and Po- 
litical Economy. 
George Sumner, M. D. Professor of Botany. 
The Rev. Hector Humphreys, A. M. Tutor. 

A Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and 
Professors of the Ancient and Modern Languages, will be ap- 
pointed as soon as the state of the College shall require it. 
In the mean time, the duties of those departments will be 
performed by the present Instructors. 

Students may enter for the regular course^ or only to pur- 
sue such particular studies^ as may be suited to their cir- 
cumstances. Candidates for admission to the regular course 
must sustain an examination on the following studies, as a 
qualification for the Freshman Class : viz. Caesar's Com- 
mentaries, Cicero's Select Orations, Virgil ; the Greek Tes- 
tament, and Graeca Minora ; English Grammar, Arithmetic, 
and Geography. Candidates for an advanced standing 
must sustain a further examination on those branches of 
learning which have been pursued by the Class they propose 
to enter. 

Candidates for the partial course must be qualified to 
pursue, to advantage, those studies to which they mean to 
devote their attention. 

The studies of the several Classes in the regular course are 
arranged as follows ; — viz. 



52 



FRESHMAN CLASS. 

f Livy, (five first books.) — Translations. 

} Roman Antiqities. 

J Graeca Majora, (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon's Cyrope- 

1^ dia.) — Declamations. 

f Geography i-evievved, and the constructing of Maps. — Conipo- 

j positions. 

<( Horace begun. — Prosody. 

i Graeca Majora, cont. (Lysias, Isocrates, Demosthenes.) — De- 

\ clamations. 

'Arithmetic reviewed. — Compositions. 
J Horace finished. — Writing Latin verse 
Graeca Majora, cont. (Xen. Memorabilia, Aristotle de Poetics. 
Dionysius, Longinus.) — Declamations. 

SOPHOMORE CLASS. 

C Logic. — Compositions. 

< Cicero de Oratorc. — Declamations. 
( Graeca Majora, cont. (Homer's Odyssey, Apollionus, &.c) 

C Algebra begun. 

^ Terence. — Compositions. 

( Grseca Majora finished, (Euripides, Pindar.) — Declamations. 

C Algebra finished. — Declamations. 

< Plane Geometry. 
( Paley's Evidences, and Nat. Theology. — Compositions. 

JUNIOR CLASS. 

C Plane Trigonemeiry, Navigation, Surveying, Levelling, &c. 
^ Blair's Lectures. — Compositions and Declamations. 
( Solid Geometry. 

C Spherical Trigonometry, Descriptive Geometry, &c> 

< Tacitus. — Compositions and Declamations. 
Analytic Geometry, and Conic Sections. 

Differential and Integral Calculus ; or Homer. 

Natural Philosophy. 

Moral Philosophy. — Compositions and Declamation?. 

SENIOR CLASS. 

C Chemistry. 

< Natural Philosophy, continued. 
( Elements of Criticism. — Compositions and DeciamatioHS. 

[ Philosophy of the Mind. — Compositions and Declamations- 
j Astronomy, and Mathematical Geography, 
j Homer or Greek Testament, with the rules of Criticism appli- 
[ ed to the Text and Interpretation. 

C Mineralogy, Geology, and Botany. 

.? Butler's Analogy. 

( Vattel's Law of Nations, or Homer, or G.Testament contin'd. 

Students of the regular course may apply themselves to 
the study of the French or Spanish Languages, in lieu of such 
of the foregoing studies, as the President may think proper 
to dispense with for their accommodation. 

Lectures will be delivered, by the professors, on Ancient 
Literature and Belles Lettres ; on natural Philosophy and 
Astronomy ; on Chemistry and Mineralogy ; on Agriculture 
and Political Economy ; and on Botany." 



1st Term. 



2d Term. 



3d Term. 



1st Term, 



2d Term. 



3d Terra. 



1st Term. 



2d Term. 



3d Term. 



1st Term. 



2d Term. 



3d Term. 



1° 

<M 



